Black Coffee
by fruit1oop
Summary: Eddie doesn't like black coffee.


**Black Coffee**

 _Black coffee I'm in trouble_  
 _Black coffee I see double_  
 _Black coffee I'm so dizzy_  
 _Black coffee please get busy_

* * *

It was one of those sleepy summer days where time seemed to go on for an eternity, the cicadas were particularly loud, and there was the otherworldly tang of a storm approaching on the horizon.

Eddie pushed his rolling chair away from the sewing table and stretched lazily, popping his back and shoulders and looking over at the mannequin that featured his latest masterpiece. It was said to be bad luck for a groom to see the bridal gown before the wedding but his darling always told him she didn't trust any other to make a dress as exquisite as he could.

The door behind him opened and he turned seeing his beautiful blushing bride step in with a cup of hot coffee in his favorite mug. Hair curled to perfection, string of pearls along her neck, and a pair of bunny slippers that made him chuckle.

"I heard you working hard so I brought you a little pick me up." She smiled warmly, a ray of sunshine that made his heart swell with adoration, "Dinner's almost ready. We're havin' roast beef with green beans and a cherry pie for dessert." She set the coffee down on the desk, placing a gentle hand on his broad back briefly.

"Thank you darling. It sounds absolutely delicious. I'll finish this part up and be down in 30." He watched lovingly as she turned and left, hair shimmering in the waning sunlight that poured in through the window. Picking up the cup of coffee, his smile slipped looking at the black liquid inside. He hated black coffee, the bitter taste always reminded him of...

The room flickered for a moment and he shook his head. They probably just ran out of creamer and he needed the caffeine, hopefully his wife still added some sweetener. He made to take a sip, lips pressed against the rim of the mug, and the room flickered again. Dark, dingy, dusty. The mannequin wearing a haphazardly sewn together rag mimicking a dress. A trail of still shiny blood smeared across the linoleum floor to the other workshop. Someone screamed in the distance, a hysterical sob of terror.

Eddie blinked and it was back to his idyllic sewing room with it's hardwood floor and striped ecru and light brown walls. He shook his head again, more forcefully this time, and pressed a gloved hand to one eye. It was throbbing terribly for some reason. Perhaps he had to have Dr. Castren check his eyesight. He hoped he didn't need glasses.

 _ **A real man drinks it black. Don't be a fucking pussy Ed.**_

He squeezed his eyes shut, shuddering at the familiar voice of his father. A memory of rough hands forcing his mouth open and pouring scalding coffee straight from the urn down his throat. His disgusting uncle laughing mockingly across the kitchen table and mother washing the dishes in the sink too terrified to do anything, shoulders shaking and a dark purple and swelling bruise on her cheek reminding them both where their places were. Hair curled to perfection, a string of pearls, and bunny slippers...

There was another scream that startled him out of his dark memory and the cup slipped from his hands, shattering and spilling coffee all over.

 _ **What are you doing Eddie? You're wasting time dwelling on such things. You have a wedding to plan. You need to get busy.**_

 _Wedding?_

 _ **Yes...**_ _yes a wedding_. For him and his beautiful bride. They were going to move to the countryside afterwards. Two story with a white picket fence and an apple tree with a tire swing. They were going to have two children, a son and a daughter. Maybe more. A family, a legacy.

Eddie turned back to the sewing machine. The calming hypnotic hum filling the air of the asylum that made it easy to block out the other noises. At his feet laid an empty prescription bottle with his name on the label.

He hated black coffee. He preferred it with cream and sugar.

* * *

A/N: I'm unsure how a bouncy electroswing song ended up inspiring this but here we are.

Thank you to Nicky for giving me a few ideas to put in this.

Black Coffee by Louie Prima and Wolfgang Lohr - youtube watch?v=zwBssxvYy9s


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